GetHelp

Question:

Why BID13?

Answer:

BID13 has a state of the art security system to keep your data safe while you are bidding on local storage auctions. Our mandatory video policy for facilities gives you an in-depth view of units. When you win an auction, our notification system and customer service team is with you every step of the way.

Question:

How do I bid on BID13?

Answer:

Hit the sign up button in the top right corner and fill out the info page. BID13 will then send you a confirmation email, once you confirm your details it is time to bid! Click bid on the unit you are interested in, and you are off to the races.

Question:

Do auctions in my area automatically show up on the BID13 homepage?

Answer:

Yes, they do, when you enter our site we automatically track down the closest auctions to you!

Question:

I don't see any auctions near me?

Answer:

Click View all on our homepage, and you can enter the desired distance to your zip code for more amazing online auctions.

Question:

What happens if I win?

Answer:

If you win an auction, you will receive an email confirmation instructing you to:
Log in to your Bid13 account.
Click on the My Auctions link (at the bottom of the page)
In the 'Auctions Won' section locate the auction you just won.
Click ‘Checkout'’ and proceed through the checkout steps to pay your 15% buyer's fee.
After your payment has been processed, you will receive an email with a confirmation number and directions to the storage facility.
Bring your confirmation number to the storage facility to purchase your unit.
Note: Once you arrive at the facility the full unit price must be paid, plus a $200 cash deposit for units under 10x25 and $500 for those that are larger. The deposit will be returned to you once the unit has been emptied and cleaned. You will have three days to empty the unit. Should you have any questions, please contact us.

Question:

How do I know if I am the current highest bidder?

Answer:

Once you place your bid, you will be immediately notified on the screen whether or not you are the current highest bidder. Also, the current highest bidder's username is displayed on the auction page.

Question:

Why don't you film the cutting of the lock?

Answer:

BID13 always encourages our vendors to film the unit at the time the original lock was removed, but this is not always possible, depending on the laws of that state or province.

Question:

What is soft close?

Answer:

During the last 30 minutes of an auction, if anybody places a bid, the auction countdown timer will have 1 minute added to it. The reason for a soft close is to ensure that nobody snipes the auction at the last minute and that everyone is given a fair chance to bid higher if they want to.

Question:

How does your bidding system work? What is proxy bidding?

Answer:

Our auction system is based on bidding by a proxy method. That means that you can place a maximum bid and allow the system to bid on your behalf up to your maximum. Your maximum amount won't be visible to other bidders, only to you.
If your maximum amount is higher than the previous bidder's maximum, the auction price will increase to $1 higher than the previous bidder's maximum. If your maximum is lower than the previous bidders maximum, you will be automatically outbid by the previous bidder, for $1 higher than your maximum.
Consider the following example:
We have two users, Dave and Ted.
A new storage auction begins at $10.
Dave places a maximum bid of $100.
The final auction price is now: $11.
Ted comes along and tries to outbid Dave, so Ted places a max bid of $50.
Ted has not outbid Dave (because $50 is less than Dave's max bid).
Ted will receive a notification informing him that he has been automatically outbid.
Dave is still the winner and the system auto bids on Dave's behalf.
The final auction price is now: $51.
Ted decides to place another bid, this time he sets his maximum bid for $250.
Ted is now the highest bidder.
Dave will now receive an email, informing him he as been outbid and is no longer the highest bidder.
The final auction price is now: $101. The auction timer ran out, and the final bid was $101. It is important to note that although Ted set his maximum bid for $250, he will only have to pay $101 because that was the current final auction price when the timer ran out.

Question:

Why is my bid increase $10 but other users can outbid me by $1?

Answer:

The reason for this is because another user has placed a max bid higher than the amount that you just bid. The system is now proxy bidding on their behalf, outbidding the amount you bid by $1. Originally when this user placed their max bid they were held to the same restriction as you were, they had to place a bid of at least $10 over the current price. Please see the proxy bidding FAQ entry below for a more detailed explanation on how our proxy bidding system works.

Question:

How do I know the unit has not been altered by the facility?

Answer:

Storage unit altering is a common concern by many new users on our website. And we believe it is an entirely legitimate concern, but once you realize how the storage auction game works, you will realize that it is not as important as you may think it is.
There are several reasons why:

1) Storage facility owners are bound by state laws not to alter the contents of a unit before the auction. Doing so would be a crime, and would put their entire facility & business at risk.

2) Storage facilities are in the business of renting units, not selling used goods. All they care about is getting the unit cleared out as fast as possible so they can rent it again.

3) Altered or "staged" units are incredibly obvious. On occasion in the past bid13 has received videos of this sort from vendors and we have rejected these videos and banned the facility & reported it to the local police. We take this matter extremely seriously.

4) We are currently in the process of distributing unremovable BID13 tags that would prove since the storage unit was locked by the seller it is protected by BID13.

The best policy to take when bidding on a storage locker is to only bid on what you can clearly make up for the pictures and videos. Do not bid on what the unit might also contain. If you follow this simple rule, you will never get burned on a storage unit. You will always receive the unit in the same state as you saw it in the video. So if you have only bid on what you know you will get, you can never lose. If you happen to find something else of significant value in the unit, this is just and added bonus.

Question:

How do I get access to the storage unit after I have paid the 15% buyer's fee?

Answer:

Once you have completed the checkout process and paid the buyers fee for the auction, you won you will receive an email detailing how to access the unit. This email will contain a map to the facility, hours of operation, and a confirmation number. You may visit the facility during business hours with two pieces of valid government issued ID and your confirmation number. Upon arrival, you will be asked to pay the final auction price in full, as well as a $200 cash deposit for units under 10x25 and $500 for units over that to gain access to the unit. You will have 72 hours to clear out the entire contents of the unit and return the unit in a clean and undamaged condition to the storage facility, at which point you will receive a full refund of your $200/$500 cash deposit.